The invention relates to a transfer. In particular, the invention relates to a device for transferring sausage-shaped products, that are carried out of a clipping machine and provided with loop-shaped suspension elements, to a product receiving element, the device comprising a guide bar along which the suspension elements can be guided in the direction of transport by means of conveyor elements, and further comprising front and rear bearing assemblies for the guide that, in each case, are disposed in pairs laterally from the guide bar.
It is known, in practice, that when producing sausage-shaped products, which may be sausage products filled with sausage meat, or other sausage-shaped products filled with liquid, pasty or granular material, such as sealing compound, etc., the filling material is fed by a filling machine via a filling tube to a clipping machine. In the clipping machine, the filling material is stuffed into a tubular casing material, which is closed at one end by a first clip, and the open end of the tubular casing material is subsequently closed by placing a second clip. If the resultant sausage-shaped product is to be suspended for further processing from a product receiving element, such as a smoking rod, a suspension element, in most cases a thread loop, is preferably inserted into the second clip and fixed to the sausage-shaped product by means of the second clip. The sausage-shaped product is subsequently carried out of the clipping machine by means of a transport device and strung with other sausage products in rows on the receiver rods in order to be further processed.
A device of the kind specified at the outset is known from German patent specification DE 38 06 467. In order to transfer sausage-shaped product, carried out of the clipping machine and provided with loop-shaped suspension elements, to a smoking rod, the loops of the sausage-shaped products are guided in the device over a guide bar. The guide bar has piston/cylinder arrangements disposed as supports laterally adjacent to the guide bar, which are arranged one after the other in the direction of transport of the sausage-shaped products on both sides of the guide bar, but offset in relation to each other. The pistons are moved horizontally towards the guide bar at an approximately right angle to the longitudinal extension of the guide bar, engage in recesses in the guide bar and in this way hold the latter in the desired position. If the loop of a sausage is moved over the guide bar, the cylinders are made to disengage from the guide bar one after the other in the respective sequence, in order to re-engage with the guide bar immediately after the loop has passed.
To ensure trouble free functioning of the bearing mount for the guide bar, the previously known transfer device requires a complex control mechanism, which ensures that sufficient pistons engage at all times with the guide bar, so that the latter is securely held in the correct position. Furthermore, the speed of piston movement cannot be increased at will, firstly due to the inertia of the components, but also for safety reasons, because when the speed of the pistons moving back and forth is too high, it can no longer be ensured that the guide bar can still be held securely in position.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a transfer device of the kind initially specified that makes transfer of the products being transferred more reliable even at higher transport speeds.
More particularly, a device is proposed for transferring sausage-shaped products, carried out of a clipping machine and provided with loop-shaped suspension elements, to a product receiving element, in order to achieve the aforesaid object. The transfer device contains a guide bar along which the suspension elements can be guided in the direction of transport by means of conveyor elements, as well as one front and one rear bearing assembly for the guide bar, said assemblies each having a right-hand and a left-hand bearing unit disposed in pairs laterally from the guide bar. The front and rear bearing assemblies form drivable positive guidance mechanisms for the suspension elements. In this way, the guide bar can be held securely in position even at higher transport speeds, while simultaneously guaranteeing that further transport of the suspension elements is very reliable.
To ensure further transport of the suspension elements, it is advantageous when the positive guidance mechanism for the suspension elements is formed by a guide gap defined between mutually contacting and rotating bearing elements of the bearing units. The guide gap may extend in the axial direction, that is to say, in the direction of transport of the suspension elements, along the mutually contacting surfaces of the rotating bearing elements.
It is also advantageous in this regard when at least the mutually contacting surface sections of the bearing elements of the bearing units have a high friction coefficient at least in sections thereof. This means that it suffices if only one of the rotating bearing elements is driven. A suitable friction coefficient can be achieved by selecting the material and the surface characteristics of the bearing elements accordingly. One way of achieving this is to provide an elastic surface, for example by applying a rubber coating.
It is also preferred that at least one part of the bearing elements of the bearing units be provided at its outer circumference with at least one circumferential groove extending in the form of a thread in the direction of transport. In this case, the groove forms a circumferential thread-shaped guide gap in which the suspension element, such as a thread loop, can be securely guided and further transported. In this region of the transfer device, any additional transport device would also be unnecessary. Such a region is likewise suitable as a transfer region, for example between two transport devices connected downstream one after the other, or between a transport device and a device connected downstream therefrom.
In the transfer device according to one embodiment of the invention, it may also be provided that the right-hand and left-hand bearing units of the front and rear bearing assemblies each have at least one support bearing element and two counter bearing elements, wherein the central longitudinal axis of the support bearing element and the central longitudinal axis of the two counter bearing elements of a bearing unit are arranged in relation to one another in such a way that, when viewed in a plane perpendicular to the direction of transport, they span a triangle. The two counter bearing elements of a bearing unit may be arranged one above the other, when viewed in a plane perpendicular to the direction of transport.
By means of the arrangement of the support bearing element and the counter bearing element as described above, the support bearing element is in at least approximately linear contact with the two counter bearing elements at all times, thus providing reliable support and bearings for the guide bar. Any rotation of the guide bar about its longitudinal axis and any displacement in the direction of transport is effectively prevented.
The elements of the bearing units may be configured in many different ways. In one particularly advantageous embodiment, the counter bearing elements of a bearing unit are formed by counter bearing shafts that are rotatable about their central longitudinal axis, and whose axes preferably extend substantially parallel to the direction of transport.
The support bearing element of a bearing unit may be disposed laterally from and between the two counter bearing elements, when viewed in a plane perpendicular to the direction of transport. It may be formed by a drivable support shaft, the axis of which preferably extends substantially parallel to the direction of transport.
In another advantageous embodiment, the support bearing elements of the two right-hand and/or of the two left-hand bearing units of the front and rear bearing assemblies are formed by a common support shaft. This simplifies construction of the bearing units and of the drive for the support shaft elements.
It may be preferable here that the support shafts of the right-hand and left-hand bearing units are driven synchronously and in opposite directions by a preferably common drive unit. A common drive unit simplifies control, for example of the drive speed. Driving the support shafts in contrary directions prevents any canting or jamming of the guide bar between the bearing units.
In one particularly preferred configuration of the bearing units, the support bearing element of a bearing unit may have a convex protuberance or a concave recess at its outer circumference. The counter bearing elements of a bearing unit may then be provided at their outer circumference with a configuration in the form of a concave recess or convex protuberance corresponding to the convex protuberance or to the concave recess of the support bearing element and mutually engaging therewith.
This mutual engagement of the concave recesses and convex protuberances of the support bearing element and the counter bearing element guarantees that the guide bar is securely held in place. These matching shapes prevent any shifting of the guide bar in its axial direction and also forms a centering means with which the position of the guide bar can be precisely defined.
The bearing assemblies may each contain bearing units that are advantageously disposed opposite one another on the side surfaces of the guide bar. In another preferred embodiment, the guide bar may be formed by a beam of preferably substantially rectangular cross-section, wherein a front bearing assembly of the beam may be disposed in the front region of the guide bar, in relation to the direction of transport, and, spaced apart therefrom, a rear bearing assembly may be disposed in the rear region of the guide bar, in relation to the direction of transport. The planar surfaces of the beam facilitate the lateral arrangement of bearing elements. Providing a groove for engagement of the hook elements is also simplified by a planar top side.
Engagement of the front and the rear bearing assemblies at the two respective side surfaces of the guide bar can ensure that the regions above and below the guide bar remain free for the sausage-shaped products to be transported, and/or for the hook-shaped transfer element.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the counter bearing elements of the right-hand and left-hand bearing units may be disposed inside the guide bar. It is advantageous when, in the region of the front and rear bearing assemblies as viewed in the direction of transport, the guide bar has successive, preferably substantially rectangular recesses that are also disposed preferably opposite one another on the side surfaces on either side of the guide bar, and in which the counter bearing elements are also preferably disposed. The counter bearing elements may also extend advantageously over the entire length of the rectangular recesses. Disposing the counter bearing elements in the recesses of the guide bar prevents components from protruding, which would obstruct transport of the suspension elements.
Due to the guide bar having at least one groove on its top side and extending over the entire length of the guide bar, a hook-shaped transfer element guided over the guide bar may engage, as a conveyor element for the sausage-shaped products, in the groove and grip the product securely at its loop-shaped suspension element.
It is advantageous when the guide bar has receiving means at its ends for connecting additional devices. By means of such receiving means, the transfer device according to the invention can be integrated in suitable suspension lines. Secure connection of additional devices can also be achieved with such receiving means, thus increasing process reliability.
Other advantageous configurations and an embodiment of the invention shall now be described with reference to the description of an embodiment and to the attached drawings. The terms “top”, “bottom”, “left” and “right” used when describing the embodiment relate to the drawings oriented in such a way that the reference signs and names of the figures can be read normally.